Hinged cover for desk sliding reference shelves



April 29, 1958 E. c. BULLOCK 2,832,658

HINGED COVER FOR DESK SLIDING REFERENCE SHELVES Filed Nov. 18, 1954INVENTOR.

EADLE g. BULLOCK AT To RN 2 Y HINGED COVER FOR DESK SLIDING REFERENCESHELVES Earle C. Bullock, East Grand Rapids, Micln, assignor toSteelcase Inc., a corporation of Michigan Application November 18, 1954,Serial No. 469,681

1 Claim. (Cl. 312-194) This invention relates to ofiice furniture andmore particularly to a hinged shield or cover for the reference shelf ofan oflice desk.

It is common practice among many users of desks to use the referenceshelf as a convenient bulletin board upon which frequently usedreference information is posted.

Typical of such uses is a list of frequently used telephone satisfactorysince they are makeshift stop-gaps and frequently result in operatingdifliculty of the equipment.

This invention is designed to provide a convenient, transparent,protective cover for these shelves beneath which 3 data may be placed atany time and easily and quickly changed when desired.

This invention provides a cover, pivotally secured to the referenceshelf whereby it may be raised at any time for removal or insertion ofdata sheets on the surface of the shelf.

This invention provides such a cover. It is readily detachable from thereference shelf, if the user does not wish to continue the use of thecover or in the event the cover should require replacement.

This invention provides a hinge structure, which, while readilydetachable, will not permit the cover sheet to be accidently detachedwhen it is in its fully raised position or in the process of beingraised or lowered. The hinge is so designed that a series ofmanipulations must be executed in a particular order to effectdetachment. The hinge also is so designed that if the cover is removed,it will leave substantially no impairment of the shelf surface to reduceits utility for other purposes.

This invention also provides a positive means of holding the cover sheetwhereby it cannot work sideways and interfere with the proper slidingoperation of the shelf.

These and other objects and purposes of this invention will beimmediately seen by those acquainted with the design and construction ofoffice furniture upon reading the following specification and theaccompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary, oblique view of my invention applied to a desk,showing the reference shelf in fully extended position.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary, side elevation view of the reference shelfshowing the cover sheet in its normal position in solid lines and inraised position in phantom lines.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary, sectional elevation ice view takenalong the plane III-III of Fig. 1 showing the cover sheet in its normalposition.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged, fragmentary, sectional elevation view taken alongthe same plane as Fig. 3 showing the cover sheet in the position it mustbe caused to assume to initiate detachment.

Referring specifically to the drawings, the numeral 10 indicates a deskhaving a top 11, and in this case a drawer well 12 in which are mounteda tier of drawers 13. The structure of the top, drawer well and drawersis conventional. 1

Slidably mounted in the drawer well between the top 11 and the upper oneof the drawers 13 is a reference shelf 14. The reference shelf ismounted within the drawer well by any suitable, conventional structurewhich permits the shelf to be readily and easily extended from the deskstructure or pushed back into its stored position.

The invention is described as applied to metal furniture in which casethe top 15 of the reference shelf is preferably of sheet metal stock.These reference shelves, in metal furniture construction, are normallyhollow. Such hollow shelves may be constructed with or without a bottompanel, even though they always have a top surface panel. This inventionis applicable whether or not the shelf has a bottom panel. The shelf 15is of conventional construction with the exception that adjacent theedge of the desk top 11, when the shelf 14 is fully extended, the toppanel 15 of the shelf is provided with a pair of spaced slots 16 (Figs.3 and 4). These slots are aligned laterally of the shelf and provide themeans by which the hereinafter described hinge elements engage theshelf. No other modification of the shelf is necessary in order toincorporate this invention on reference shelves of standard design andconstruction.

The cover member itself consists of a transparent sheet 20 of such sizeand shape that it covers substantially the entire exposed portion of thereference shelf 14, when the latter is extended. The sheet 20 may be ofany suitable material such as a transparent plastic. It will beunderstood that it could be of glass although this is not consideredpreferable because of the weight and brittleness of glass.

The sheet 20 is secured at its rearward end, that is, adjacent the desktop 11, by means of a pair of hinge elements 22. The hinge elements 22are each identical. Each consists of a pair of L-shaped portions which,when viewed in one position, have the general shape of the letter W. Thecentral section 23 of the hinge forms an L-shaped step having an apex 24projecting in the general direction of the sheet 20. One leg of thehinge overlays the top surface of the sheet 20 and is secured thereto byany suitable means such as the rivets 25. It will be understood that themeans by which the hinge is secured to the sheet is relativelyimmaterial to this invention since adhesives or other fastening meanscould be substituted for the rivets 25 without departing from theprinciple of this invention. In fact, under proper conditions, the legportion of the hinge overlying the surface of the sheet 20 could beeliminated and that portion of the L-shaped central section bearingagainst the back edge of the sheet 20 could be secured to the sheet 20by adhesives to form the bond between these components.

That portion of the hinge 22 below the apex 24 is designed to be beneaththe surface of the top sheet 15 of the shelf 14. This portion is itselfan L-shaped portion having an apex 26 extending oppositely from the apex24 (Fig. 4).

In order to attach the sheet 20 to the shelf, the sheet is inclined at asharp angle of approximately 3045. In this position, the bottom leg ofthe hinges may be inserted through the slots 16 until the apex 26 isreached. At this point the inclination of the shelf is increased untilthe apex 26 may pass through the slot 16. The second leg of the hingeswill then pass through the slots until the apex 24 is reached. The apex24 is designed to move into and out ofthe slot 16 as the cover sheet 20is raised or lowered.

When the cover sheet 2 3 is in its lowered position, as illustrated inFig. 1, the sheet 20 lies fiat against the top surface of the topsurface 15 of the shelf 14. The hinges 22 at this point are idle exceptthat their presence in the slot 16 prevents the sheet from beingdisplaced either lengthwise or sideways of the shelf. The hinges 22 arespaced apart substantially the full width of the shelf 14, therebypreventing the sheet 20 from rotating on the shelf and jamming theoperation of the shelf.

When the sheet 20 is pivoted into its fully upright position, it willnot become detached, since the bottom end 27 of the hinge will engagethe bottom surface of the top sheet 15 of the shelf and thus prevent thesheet from being accidently lifted from the shelf. Because of the zigzagshape of the hinges, the sheet will not become detached as the sheet isbeing raised or lowered, since it requires a raising then a forward andthen a backward manipulation in order to disengage the hinges 22 fromthe shelf. The hinge, while providing security against accidentaldisengagement, does not interfere with the ready removal of the sheetfrom the shelf, when desired.

It will be seen that the memorandums and data placed under the sheet maybe quickly and easily changed simply by raising the sheet. With thesheet down, the data beneath is clearly visible through the transparentmaterial, yet is protected from mechanical injury or from being blownaway or accidentally knocked 0E. The whole unit may be economicallyfabricated and adapted to desks of almost any type and construction.

While I have described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it willbe understood that various modifications of this invention may be madewithout departing from the principles herein set forth. Each of thesemodifications is to be considered as included in the hereinafterappended claim unless this claim by its language expressly statesotherwise.

I claim:

The combination comprising: a sheet metal reference shelf of a deskincluding a sheet metal panel having a top and bottom surface and a pairof spaced and aligned slots; a rigid cover sheet member overlying andsubstantially covering the exposed portion of the top surface of saidshelf when said shelf is fully extended; said sheet member having topand bottom faces; a pair of hinge members received by said slots, eachhinge member having a first L-shaped section including a horizontal legoverlying and secured to a portion of the top face of said sheet member,and a vertical leg integral with said horizontal leg and extendingdownwardly along an edge of said sheet member into one of said slots;and a second L-shaped section integrally connected to said vertical legof said first L-shaped section; said second L-shaped section including ahorizontal leg extending away from said sheet member along the bottomsurface of said sheet metal shelf, and a vertical leg integral with andextending downwardly from the end of said horizontal leg; said hingemembers permitting said bottom face of said sheet memher to lie directlyon the top surface of said shelf without any space therebetween and saidsheet member to be pivoted about the juncture between said L-shapedsection.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS308,264 Klenha Nov. 18, 1884 367,616 Gray Aug. 2, 1887 470,291 DowlingMar. 8, 1892 1,180,750 Wolf Apr. 25, 1916 1,870,553 Bullen Aug. 9, 1932

